IPL 2018: Money offered by IPL is a motivation, says Ravi Ashwin

February 16, 2018

Image credit - Free Press Journal

The Indian Premier League has been responsible for many rags to riches stories over the last 10 years. A lot of ex-cricketers have come out to say that prioritizing money over cricket can be harmful, but Ravi Ashwin believes that when you chase cricketing excellence, IPL money comes as a by-product. Upcoming young players like Jaydev Unadkat, KL Rahul and Manish Pandey all went for over 10 crores in the IPL 2018 auction.

IPL money will be a motivation to move forward

However, Ravichandran Ashwin who made his way to the top after some excellent performances in the IPL itself believes that such monetary gains from the IPL are actually a motivation for the players. He spoke to Gulf News recently and discussed the various pros and cons of the big money that the IPL is famous for. The off-spinner said,

“People tend to brand IPL as some sort of a villain to Indian cricket in a lot of ways. It depends how a cricketer addresses IPL. Any sort of monetary gain that IPL provides is a motivation to move ahead. It is a massive move by the BCCI to do a tournament like this because it definitely gives a better lifestyle for the cricketer in terms of money.”

Ashwin who has played for both CSK and Rising Pune Supergiant will be turning out for the Kings XI Punjab in the 11th season of the Indian Premier League after the Preity Zinta owned team purchased him in auction for INR 7.60 crore. The right-arm off-break bowler has played over a 100 IPL matches picking up exactly 100 wickets.

IPL money a by-product of cricket excellence

Ashwin who rose to fame following a string of excellent performances in IPL season 2010, believes that though the money from the T20 league is very tempting, a youngster, who is passionate about the sports should always target playing for the country. He said,

“I am sure nothing brings confidence more than money brings to you. Upbringing of a kid matters a lot. How much it means to him to don those Indian colours and go out there and play and excel as a cricketer plays a big role. I have always looked at excellence, try and get better and win a game. When that is the motive I think money just becomes a by-product.”

Currently, Ashwin is taking part in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with the Tamil Nadu team. Over the last 2 years, the former number 1 test bowler has seen his place in the limited-over format being taken over by the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. Even though the 31-year-old is India’s prime spinner in test cricket, his limited-overs career seems to have stalled to a halt.

Some experts believe that both Ashwin and Jadeja should give up on their dream to play in the 2019 World Cup given how well the two young spinners have done in recent past. However, India’s bowling Bharat Arun recently spoke about the two senior spinners chances to play in next years world and he clearly said that the race is still not over and both of them still have a chance of being selected in the World Cup squad.